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Originally posted by Mellor View PostIf it still has the original old style fuseboard, then would be worth while replacing with a modern circuit board. And you could do that without replacing all the cabling as long as there were a few existing separate circuits. From there you could also add a dedicated shower, heater, car charger circuits as needed to the new CB.
Replacing all the cabling with the boards would be marginally better. But a lot more work as you'll be ripping into wall. Best do as part of another renovation imo - unless they are in a bad way obviously.
I'd look at the kitchen and bathroom first. How old do they look? What are the finishes materials. Maybe they were replaced recently, but changes are they are the best place to start.
Most places of that era have odd little fireplaces. Getting rid can give you back usable space in the downstair rooms.
BER is likely awful. Could improve by insulating the attic. Or my adding a large well insulated extension.
8JLciLxl.jpg"We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil
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Originally posted by Lao Lao View PostI don't think there is any job/salary that would make me want to live in Singapore. I've only ever been there once and absolutely hated it.
tW0NNril.jpg"We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil
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Originally posted by shrapnel View Post
a good friend of mine lives out there and I was speaking to him yesterday. he says it's currently a miserable place to be. Population is currently down to its lowest since 1975 as so many expats have left due to their covid restrictions and policies. no one want to be there anymore and he says it probably wont get back to the way it was for quite some time."I can’t find anyone who agrees with what I write or think these days, so I guess I must be getting closer to the truth." - Hunter S. Thompson
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Reading some great graphic novel series at the moment.
Preacher is just brilliant glorious nonsense.
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And then the surprisingly deep Black Hammer.
9781616557867.jpg
Either series would be great introductions to the genre for anyone on the edge of trying out graphic novels. An artform that everyone should be knee-deep in."We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil
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Originally posted by shrapnel View Post
give me Singapore over the emirates any day!!
There was people contacting Mrs Lao Lao about jobs in Dubai recently but we didn't look at it as serious option.
Friends were on the verge of going to Doha until their family circumstances changed very significantly and that's been closed off for good.
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Originally posted by Lao Lao View Post
Yeah, wouldn't be mad about the Emirates either although the main attraction with them is to go for 3-5 years, make a shit ton of tax free money and then come back to be either mortgage free or very close to it.
There was people contacting Mrs Lao Lao about jobs in Dubai recently but we didn't look at it as serious option.
Friends were on the verge of going to Doha until their family circumstances changed very significantly and that's been closed off for good."We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil
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Excellent Article in The Currency re the Cobblestone et al. Have tried to copy it below
The Cobblestone pub in Smithfield is special because it feels a bit like stepping back in time. Or, at least, into a pub in West Clare. It’s a bit run down. On an evening, you might find three sessions going on in different corners of the place. The atmosphere is perfect.
The Cobblestone is on a corner at the top of Smithfield market in Dublin. The buildings and land on either side of it are derelict. The pub occupies the ground floor of a three story building.
Across the road from it on Smithfield Market is a wall of apartment buildings, between seven and fourteen stories in height. They were built in the 1990s. If Smithfield were to be developed today, and if planning wasn’t an issue, those apartments might be forty stories tall.
That’s because Dublin is getting richer. The technology industry has come to town. The wealth it generates is literally seeping into the ground: land prices have rocketed since the 1990s.
Now there’s a plan to demolish the derelict buildings around The Cobblestone and replace them with a nine-story hotel. The Cobblestone would lose its smoking area and one of its live music spaces. And its front bar would be adjoined to the hotel as a residents bar. The atmosphere would be ruined.
So there’s a conflict. The Cobblestone is one of the places that makes Dublin unique. But it’s sitting on a plot of very expensive land.
You might say that it’s not a difficult conflict at all — just save The Cobblestone. Simple as.
But The Cobblestone is an awkward example of a very important and wide-ranging problem in our country. It’s an example of hard cases making bad law.
The problem
The other day on Twitter I put it like this: “Ireland has very high land prices and very low density. This is an unnatural state of affairs. Expensive land wants to be developed densely. Indeed, this is why towns and cities exist.”
Land has gotten more expensive in Dublin, and Ireland, for basically positive reasons. It has a thriving economy, good quality of life, is culturally interesting. For these reasons, it’s attractive. People from the rest of Ireland and the rest of the world are moving to Dublin. Tourists want to check it out.
The problem is when we don’t build new infrastructure to accommodate all these new arrivals. If we don’t build new places for them, what happens is they come in and displace the existing Dubs. And you get the situation we’re in now.
And if you don’t want to see lots of construction, and taller buildings, the only other way to lower housing costs is to make the city less attractive – perhaps by cancelling rubbish collection or sacking the teachers, or by kicking out TikTok, or closing hotels. That would also work. It would obviously be nuts. But if you want the cost of living to fall, these are basically the two options. Either expand supply to satisfy the existing demand, or contract demand so that it matches the existing supply.
Special case
The Cobblestone is an interesting case for two reasons. One is that it’s not being adjoined by any old building, it’s being adjoined by a hotel.
Hotels are now the enemy in Dublin. The housing shortage has gotten to a point where tourism – our largest indigenous industry – is considered a bad thing. Or at least, the hotels tourism necessitates are. Hotels are seen to be taking space away from housing. So, for The Cobblestone to be replaced by a hotel of all things is especially galling.
We’re in this through the looking glass world where anything that attracts people to the city, or makes it better, can be seen as bad because it exacerbates the housing crisis. 5,000 new jobs at Tiktok? Airports opening back up? Successful policy initiative to remove cars from the city centre? Universities climbing the global rankings? All bad news for Dublin.
The other interesting thing about the Cobblestone case is this idea of conservation. The Cobblestone is a special case because it’s so beloved. The petition to protect it got 20,000 signatures in a few days. But the desire to conserve our existing built environment saturates our planning regime.
What would happen if a developer tried to build a nine story apartment block at the end of your road? It’s likely the local WhatsApp would be up in arms, and the neighbours would probably be successful in stopping it. They’d likely argue a nine story building would ruin the character of the neighbourhood.
The Dublin City development plan, 2016-21
This idea of conservation is at the heart of our dysfunctional housing market. We don’t want our neighbourhoods to change. So we elect councillors who draw up development plans that forbid drastic change. The reason your local WhatsApp group probably isn’t battling with plans for a nine story apartment blocks is because those blocks have already been made illegal almost everywhere in Ireland. Your local representatives have ensured it.
Ronan Lyons reckons the government’s target of 29,000 homes per year is way short. He thinks we need closer to 50,000 homes per year for the next twenty to meet the demands of our growing population. The fact of the matter is that there’s zero chance of us hitting that target under our existing planning regime, with an effective prohibition on high density city living and a veto for locals. To get 50,000 houses per year we need new construction everywhere. It doesn’t need to be nine stories tall, but it needs to be in every neighbourhood in the city of Dublin and all over the country. It’s something we’re never going to do if we hold onto this impulse to conserve things the way they are. Our cities need to change quite radically. But that doesn’t have to be something to fear.
The Lexus effect
The other point is that right now, when we’re not building enough, it always feels like we’re fighting a rearguard action. The new developments are bland hotels or office blocks. The ones getting replaced are beloved cultural spaces.
But this is what you get when there’s not enough construction. When the amount of construction is rationed by the planning system, as it is now, new construction focuses on the top end of the market.
This makes sense: the fewer units of a product that get made, the more high end it’ll be. The first cars were toys for rich people. Then, mass production made them a product for anyone.
As the writer Matthew Yglesias has pointed out, in the 1980s, the US government restricted the number of cars Japanese carmakers could export to the US (this they did because US carmakers were angry about losing market share). In response to the quotas, the Japanese carmakers decided to move upmarket. They developed the Lexus and Infiniti brands. They moved upmarket because, only being allowed to sell a small number of units, they had to maximise the margin they made on them.
So when the planning system restricts development, it does two things: it changes the quantity of units (bad for affordability in itself) and it changes the quality of the units that get built, making them more upmarket.
We know how to create great cultural spaces. Indeed, they appeared all over Ireland during the recession. All that needs to happen is for rents to be low. With low rents, cultural spaces emerge naturally.
So the good news is that we don’t have to fight a rearguard action! We can actually get ahead of the change, and have plenty of cool cultural spaces alongside hotels and apartments and houses. The new parts of our cities don’t have to be bland.
Japan is my urban planning nirvana. Japan is a place that’s ruthlessly free of nostalgia. The Japanese build much more stuff of all kinds than we do. (They do this because their planning system is much more permissive, but that’s a story for another day.) Anyway, when you walk around Tokyo or Osaka, the place is buzzing with culture. Even though the buildings are all new, they’re full of weird, small, quirky businesses and public spaces. There are little sheebeen pubs all over the place, with enough room to hold eight old men leaning against a counter in the centre of the room. They don’t have that corporate blandness you get in new parts of western cities. Japan isn’t bland because it has relatively cheap rents, and it has cheap rents because Japanese people build way more than we do.
You don’t have to go all the way to Japan to see cities with low rents and thriving cultural scenes. Manchester or Glasgow or Berlin or Pittsburgh all fit the bill. But those cities’ glory days are behind them. That’s why they’re cheap. What makes Tokyo or Osaka notable is that they’re cheap and they’re growing. That’s the trick Ireland needs to pull off.
So we can have our cake and eat it, in the sense that we can welcome people to the country and have vibrant evolving cultural spaces that are uniquely Irish and have affordable housing. New cultural spaces can be just as good as the old one we’re clinging onto. The places that embody Irish culture don’t have to be frozen in place from 1950 or whenever.
But we can’t have our cake and eat it in the sense that we can’t have affordable housing and conserve our existing neighbourhoods. Either we embrace change, and allow our neighborhoods to radically change in line with their growing population. Or we spend the next few decades fighting about rents, and visitors, and highly-paid technology jobs.
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Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View PostReading some great graphic novel series at the moment.
Preacher is just brilliant glorious nonsense.
9781401240455.jpg
And then the surprisingly deep Black Hammer.
9781616557867.jpg
Either series would be great introductions to the genre for anyone on the edge of trying out graphic novels. An artform that everyone should be knee-deep in.
Last edited by Strewelpeter; 11-10-21, 14:28.Turning millions into thousands
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Originally posted by shrapnel View Post
give me Singapore over the emirates any day!!
They are ok if your only purpose is to work work work, keep your head down and make money but expat life there is a sick way to live IMO
Turning millions into thousands
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Originally posted by Hectorjelly View PostRun an ethernet cable into each room
No idea is history will repeat itself with current cables. But I'd go high spec to be sure.
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View Post
Thanks so much for this. I think it is an old fuseboard from what I've inferred from the surveyor report. I rang one person from a reliable place and he said that will be €7,200 for a full rewire and another person from a reliable place said that probably a rewire isn't needed and he'll send out an electrician to go through the various potential issues and price up the different types of jobs that could be done - e.g. fuseboard. They seemed the least money-grabby, and the closest to what you said, so he's on his way out.
I believe the meter is technically the ESBs property. And I think they'll replace it with a digital smart meter in an upcoming or ongoing rollout.
ESB Networks installs 1.5 million smart meters nationwide as part of the National Smart Metering Programme
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Originally posted by The Istanbul View PostExcellent Article"We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil
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Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View Post
Literally just off the phone with that journalist and we were chitchatting about some side issues and I mentioned about that place, not knowing he had written that at the weekend. I said I'd heard dodgy things about it, and he goes: oh yeah what? I then proceeded to explain about the anti-Finish sentiment once expressed there as an example of how it might have been a bit closed in mindset.
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Originally posted by Strewelpeter View Post
I bought a copy of watchmen today, ostensibly for no1 grandchild (32 months old) telling her I'll mind it for her until she's 16 and here's a Dr Suess to keep you ticking over until then
This series should be on everyones reading list.
Get in there before they make a soulless tv adaptationPeople say I should be more humble I hope they understand, they don't listen when you mumble
Get a shiny metal Revolut card! And a free tenner!
https://revolut.com/referral/jamesb8!G10D21
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I see The Unicorn is next on the chopping block (albeit for rental apartments incorporating a new restaurant).
"Former environment editor of The Irish Times, Frank McDonald, submitted his observation to the board in support of the objectors’ opposition.
Mr McDonald argued that The Unicorn restaurant was “legendary” and had a long-established cultural context, operating since 1938.
Mr McDonald was following up on his original objection with Dublin City Council where he said the Unicorn “has been part of the landscape and cultural memory of Dublin, patronised by a diverse and loyal clientele that included politicians, civil servants, lawyers, architects, artists, writers and business people”.
Mr McDonald said that the loss of a long-established restaurant would be a "serious blow to the cultural landscape of Dublin”.Last edited by Dice75; 11-10-21, 16:20.
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Beautiful! That looks amazing just based on the front cover.
Edit: DPs comic, not the fact that an artsyfartsy restaurant is being burned to the groundLast edited by Hitchhiker's Guide To...; 11-10-21, 16:16."We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil
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Originally posted by The Istanbul View Post
He writes well (as do most of the contributors to the Currency). I presume you have a Uni-paid for sub?
No uni sub, so I just pay it myself - seems like the type of thing a prof of finance should be supporting."We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil
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Originally posted by Strewelpeter View Post
I bought a copy of watchmen today, ostensibly for no1 grandchild (32 months old) telling her I'll mind it for her until she's 16 and here's a Dr Suess to keep you ticking over until then﴾͡๏̯͡๏﴿
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Originally posted by Dice75 View PostI see The Unicorn is next on the chopping block (albeit for rental apartments incorporating a new restaurant).
"Former environment editor of The Irish Times, Frank McDonald, submitted his observation to the board in support of the objectors’ opposition.
Mr McDonald argued that The Unicorn restaurant was “legendary” and had a long-established cultural context, operating since 1938.
Mr McDonald was following up on his original objection with Dublin City Council where he said the Unicorn “has been part of the landscape and cultural memory of Dublin, patronised by a diverse and loyal clientele that included politicians, civil servants, lawyers, architects, artists, writers and business people”.
Mr McDonald said that the loss of a long-established restaurant would be a "serious blow to the cultural landscape of Dublin”.
I do like the wording of one of the original objections from back in 2020
The association told the council that a new building with unsupervised short-term lets “in this neighbourhood with its surrounding pubs and night-life risks its deterioration into a Honky-Tonk, Temple Bar type location”.
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Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View Post
Yeah, i was a bit lost in places tbh. That and V for Vendetta have aged a wee bit, or have better movie versions.
From Hell is another fantastic piece of art deminished by a shoddy movie.
Y: The Last Man s currently in it's fist season of tv, not bad so far. But the comic run is well worth checking outPeople say I should be more humble I hope they understand, they don't listen when you mumble
Get a shiny metal Revolut card! And a free tenner!
https://revolut.com/referral/jamesb8!G10D21
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Originally posted by DeadParrot View Post
Jesus Christ, on both examples there you are way wrong. In my opinion anyway.
From Hell is another fantastic piece of art deminished by a shoddy movie.
Y: The Last Man s currently in it's fist season of tv, not bad so far. But the comic run is well worth checking outThis too shall pass.
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Its been a minute...
Came across some oxtail last week so decided to make some beef tacos.
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Smoked for 3 hours then off to a guinness bath for another 3.
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Amazed at the amount of meat.
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Made some tortillas and inhaled.
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This too shall pass.
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Originally posted by eamonhonda View PostYou think you make good tacos until you see that. Taco press and all is impressive, you must have some serious kitchen storage, I use parchment paper and a saucepan.
Do you ever try the masa tacos or just flour?This too shall pass.
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Originally posted by dobby View PostBloody hell Oleras I'm going to use a phrase I never use cos it's for morons and American beours and I detest it but Oh. My. God. Looks truly amazing.
When is that post-covid dinner in your gaff
The new toy, such a steep learning curve from just using charcoal...so far i have only ruined a chicken, rack of ribs and an albeit very lean brisket flat, fun learning though !
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PXL-20211005-155044746-MP.jpgThis too shall pass.
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Having a bit of a disagreement with the wife about speeding. She thinks being caught is a high chance event, while I was thinking that if you are out at night and the roads are all empty, its probably a tiny chance of being caught. Nothing excessive, just maybe 10 above speed limit when the road is clear and straight. Thats surely no bother and tiny chance of being caught outside of regular hours? Whats the general habit? Just go the speed that the cars on the road allow, or stick closely to limits for fear of being done in?"We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil
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Originally posted by Lao Lao View PostI'm somewhat baffled by your post?
You then seem to be underestimating the impact The Cobblestone has had here. If you do even the slightest bit of research, you will the sheer amount of people who are crediting it with getting their break, a place that was so influential to them. To label it as some tourist spot full of pisspoor amateurs is way off the mark.
Turning millions into thousands
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Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View PostHaving a bit of a disagreement with the wife about speeding. She thinks being caught is a high chance event, while I was thinking that if you are out at night and the roads are all empty, its probably a tiny chance of being caught. Nothing excessive, just maybe 10 above speed limit when the road is clear and straight. Thats surely no bother and tiny chance of being caught outside of regular hours? Whats the general habit? Just go the speed that the cars on the road allow, or stick closely to limits for fear of being done in?
While there is a certain bit of logic to it, it's still quite likely to be an old wives tail though.
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Originally posted by hotspur View PostWell first of all determine how inflated the speedometer is on your car by checking it versus Google Maps speed. You may think your speeding but actually going the speed limit."We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil
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Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View Post
Ah? I'd noticed the difference, but was thinking Google Maps was wrong.
I've definitely been potentially tagged based on the speed of my dial being slightly over BUT haven't got a ticket yet. I would flick on the cruise control at the limit on Waze/google maps and never worry about it. I've no idea what the +/- tolerance or margin for error on those speed guns but I'd suspect it's around 3-5%.
Aside from this, you're in an EV and the general rule is to keep it under 100kph to save battery so I'd probably be more worried about that tbh.
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Shilling for my niece whose trying to win a competition on bear FM in Waterford
I don't really get insta but if you can go into the story and vote for Chloe and Veronica please. If you've got nothing better to do for a few moments
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
Turning millions into thousands
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Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View PostHaving a bit of a disagreement with the wife about speeding. She thinks being caught is a high chance event, while I was thinking that if you are out at night and the roads are all empty, its probably a tiny chance of being caught. Nothing excessive, just maybe 10 above speed limit when the road is clear and straight. Thats surely no bother and tiny chance of being caught outside of regular hours? Whats the general habit? Just go the speed that the cars on the road allow, or stick closely to limits for fear of being done in?
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Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View PostHaving a bit of a disagreement with the wife about speeding. She thinks being caught is a high chance event, while I was thinking that if you are out at night and the roads are all empty, its probably a tiny chance of being caught. Nothing excessive, just maybe 10 above speed limit when the road is clear and straight. Thats surely no bother and tiny chance of being caught outside of regular hours? Whats the general habit? Just go the speed that the cars on the road allow, or stick closely to limits for fear of being done in?
People say I should be more humble I hope they understand, they don't listen when you mumble
Get a shiny metal Revolut card! And a free tenner!
https://revolut.com/referral/jamesb8!G10D21
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Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View PostHaving a bit of a disagreement with the wife about speeding. She thinks being caught is a high chance event, while I was thinking that if you are out at night and the roads are all empty, its probably a tiny chance of being caught. Nothing excessive, just maybe 10 above speed limit when the road is clear and straight. Thats surely no bother and tiny chance of being caught outside of regular hours? Whats the general habit? Just go the speed that the cars on the road allow, or stick closely to limits for fear of being done in?
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Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View PostHaving a bit of a disagreement with the wife about speeding. She thinks being caught is a high chance event, while I was thinking that if you are out at night and the roads are all empty, its probably a tiny chance of being caught. Nothing excessive, just maybe 10 above speed limit when the road is clear and straight. Thats surely no bother and tiny chance of being caught outside of regular hours? Whats the general habit? Just go the speed that the cars on the road allow, or stick closely to limits for fear of being done in?
Why is there no campaigns from RSA about sticking to the left lane unless overtaking so you greatly reduce your chance of smashing head on with people heading down the wrong side of the motorway? It happens so so often. You don't even see it coming. Your brain looks for the red lights and it happens so fast. So many fatalities because of it.
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Hitch is a master of his craft tbf
People say I should be more humble I hope they understand, they don't listen when you mumble
Get a shiny metal Revolut card! And a free tenner!
https://revolut.com/referral/jamesb8!G10D21
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Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To... View PostThe budget looks decent. Love the idea of half price public travel for under 24s. Homeowning pensioners are doing pretty decent out of pensions. €2,300 a month for a 66 year old retired couple near the top of their health?"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
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Gimmeabreak see Sunday have a runner at Punchestown, best of luck, any insights? Going myself tomorrow, really looking forward to it.Jayzus, Sheila! I forgot me feckin' trousers
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Originally posted by hotspur View PostI must say that lecture series on the history of China in the 20th Century is of remarkably high quality. The guy doing it is wonderful at it.
30 min lectures which I've been listening to during breakfast for the past three weeks and I've learnt so much so far. It's fascinating.
Have you got to the cultural revolution yet? I realise its not necessary to spoiler a 1960/70s public event, but so as to allow him to tell the story in his way I'll spoiler it anyway
SPOILERWhere they sent the millions of college kids to the countryside to be farm labourers with no hope of returning. That was heartwrenching.
Edit: thank you for finding the series, it has very much been the learning highlight of my year.
"We're not f*cking Burundi" - Big Phil
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